For various reasons, it may be desirable to destroy or remove cartilage from the joint area of a bone. For example, such procedures are often employed in the treatment of hand or foot injuries during the process of joint fusion to facilitate the healing of a joint fusion. Joint fusion is indicated for unstable or painful joints. The process of joint fusion involves removal or destruction of the smooth cartilage lining of a joint followed by fixation of the raw ends of the bone to each other with the intent to have the bone ends heal and form a solid, non-movable, bone construct that is no longer unstable or painful.
A typical method of performing joint cartilage removal involves creating and incision or open arthrotomy and mechanically removing the joint cartilage with a burr, or biting or cutting instrument. Usually a rongeur, a type of biting tool, is used. Sometimes in addition to cartilage, subcortical hard bone is also removed. Alternatively, destruction of the cartilage in some form as opposed to removal of cartilage may also be satisfactory. Although this technique works relatively well, the method is relatively cumbersome and time consuming, requiring a large exposure or access to the joint. Accordingly, improved techniques and tools for joint preparation and cartilage removal or destruction when fusions are performed are desired.
The present invention allows the safe insertion of a cartilage destroyer into a joint with percutaneous techniques. The guidewire controls the device preventing errant travel of the device and its sharp cutting edges providing for safe percutaneous cartilage destruction.